VR for pain management. Project idea.

For most of this final year of our BA degree in VR we are going to work on the final major project which is a technical task and requires some sort of an immersive media build. The project I am going to develop is called a Time Train and it is a VR application inspired by the VR used in medical settings to ease the pain during the painful and uncomfortable procedures.

From the beginning of the course I was amazed and inspired by how VR is implemented in various fields, way beyond the entertainment and video games industry. 

At the end of the first year I researched the topic of using VR in labour. VR was used in several medical settings around the world to support women giving birth in managing the pain accompanying that life-changing event. 

The interest in the VR as a pain management tool (or in an oversimplified statement, as a distraction from the pain), led towards more research of that topic. My attention was caught by the potential of VR being used for children and young patients during painful medical procedures, when, very often they have to stay still and focused, to redirect their mind for the duration of the treatment. 

Available research praises the novelty of VR in that use, but very often does not describe in a detailed way the actual experiences used for that purpose. That inspired me to attempt creating a VR experience that could be potentially used in a similar way, to transfer patient-player’s mind to a virtual world, away from the physical pain. 

The experience would be gaze controlled and time-animated as the player wouldn’t have to use their hands and controllers – which would be crucial during for example a dressing change on the patient’s hand.

The story should be compelling, and visually attractive to the young player’s eyes. I have an idea for the concept of that VR world that will be called Time Train, as mentioned at the start of this post. I am going to write about it in more detail in my next blog entry. It is time to research more, make notes and start planning and designing, so then the work on the actual VR app can commence.